Valentina Rosendo Cantú, indigenous me´phaa woman, originally from the community of Caxitepec, municipality of Acatepec in the high mountains of Guerrero, was victim of sexual torture by military members in 2002, a case in which the responsability of the Mexican State was decided by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in August 2010.

The past two sessions (167 and 168) of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in 2018, saw a panorama of hearings about Mexico which offer a bleak overview of the human rights situation in the country. These cases confirm the human rights crisis that the IACHR observed in their insitu visit to Mexico in 2015. The impacts of public security policies and the prevalence of impunity in cases of human rights violations were also highlighted. These violations not only represent obstacles for the development of peaceful societies, but also represent serious challenges f

On 13 September the Paso del Norte Human Rights Center, an organization that is accompanied by PBI, provided information in a press release about the release of Mr. J. Valdez, one of the people that they accompanied in legal proceedings.

The International Federation of Human Rights (Fidh) and the Fray Juan de Larios Human Rights Center (FJdL) – an organization accompanied by PBI – delivered a report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on 6 July in which they requested an investigation for crimes against humanity committed in the state of Coahuila between 2009 and 2016.

26 June was the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, which was created to commemorate the implementation of the UN Convention against torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment. It is important to remember that in Mexico, at the federal level, the General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Sanction Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading treatment, was approved in the recent legislative period and came into effect on 26 June.

19 June marked the one year anniversary of the “Oaxaca Operation,” carried out by the State and Federal Police in Nochixtlan and four other municipalities. According to different organizations, a series of violent events occurred that led to eight deaths and hundreds of injuries, in addition to psychological damage to dozens of civilians, including children.

During the month of April, during the first period of ordinary sessions of Congress, legislative advances were made with regard to the General Law to Prevent, Investigate and Sanction Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading treatment and the General Law on Forced Disappearance and Disappearance Committed by Individuals.